Korageous Heart - Lauren Connors

What does it mean to be Korageous?

I am asking for your help for someone extremely important to me. Kormasa Amos came into my life at a special time. I was going through what I have since coined as “my 30-year-old crisis.” I had pushed my demons aside for 29 years and finally confronted them. As part of that process, I realized I needed to leave the isolation of my successfully running sole proprietorship and return to the workforce with peers. That is when I met Kor.

I took a job for a large developmental disability organization and Kor was my officemate. We instantly hit it off. I was the white rain to her black thunder. We would take our lunch breaks together, simply to talk. And, boy did we talk! We commiserated and related about all the typical things people do… our relationships, our jobs, our aging faces, etc. But, these typically superficial 30-something conversations were never superficial with Kor.

There was always an insight, an actualization, a truth, and an inspiration to what we shared. She kept me positive. She affirmed my strengths and the path I was contemplating but often, too scared to choose. I am not a religious person, but I truly believe that Kor was sent as a messenger and an angel to me. I don’t think I would have persevered as well through that period in my life if I hadn’t met Kor. Working with Kor for this short two-year period had such a significant impact on my life.

Kor ended up leaving the organization before me but we kept in touch and she became a much-loved member of my wedding party. During this time, Kor underwent long-awaited testing and finally found answers to years of her puzzling health decline. Unfortunately, she learned she had Lupus and Mixed Connected Tissue Disorder which ultimately caused her most troubling symptoms of Pulmonary Fibrosis – where she now unable to breathe on her own. Despite this life-altering news, Kor remained involved with my wedding and never made attention about herself because that is the person, she is… selfless, humble, and giving. She pushed herself to attend my bridal and baby showers despite extreme difficulty. Though she physically didn’t attend my wedding, I felt her by my side the whole day.

Beyond the immeasurable impact Kormasa has had on my life, she has influenced the lives of so many others. She has been a leader for her church, for young girls, and even spearheaded a campaign for her parents’ native country of Liberia during the EBOLA epidemic. Simply said, she is someone you only meet once. That is why it is so incredibly important to me to support her. The world doesn’t have enough Korageous people like Kormasa and we certainly cannot afford to lose her. Please consider giving a gift to her Help Hope Live campaign. Your gift will help her family manage the significant medical expenses required post-operatively to the success of her double lung transplant.

Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

Best,
Lauren Beth Connors